MS actually saved my life....let me explain
OK....so how did MS save my life? Sounds crazy, I know, but MS actually added years to my life. I will try to make this as brief as possible. This is the Reader's Digest version of my story:
First of all, I have had MS for over 40 yrs. I went to the doctor with my first symptoms when I was 19 or 20 yrs old. It was to be many years before I would be diagnosed however. All those years of misdiagnosis is another story for another time.
To get to the point of how MS saved my life; when my youngest child was just an infant (at the time, I had 3 children), I began experiencing severe pain, numbness and tingling from the chest down on my right side, and on the bottom of my left foot. I also had excruciating pain (how do I put this delicately?) up my butt. The pain was so bad that I thought I must have busted a gut or something.
I made an appointment with my family physician. My symptoms puzzled him and being a thoughtful and conscientious doctor, he referred me to a specialist. After many tests with all normal results, the neuro-surgeon ordered an MRI of my brain.
No, unlike many MSers, no lesions were seen on the MRI of my brain. But, an aneurysm was discovered. Needless to say, all other concerns about my symptoms were put on the back burner and I was scheduled for brain surgery to repair the aneurysm, which was located behind my left eye at the juncture of the carotid artery and the optic artery. That was 22 yrs ago. Surgery was successful and I have almost no permanent damage.
The night before my brain surgery the doctor performed a spinal tap (now referred to as a lumbar puncture). The results showed that I had MS but I was not informed of this until almost 2 yrs later because it took me that long to recover from the brain surgery. My surgeon told me that they had found something that would probably explain my symptoms but that we would not pursue this until I had recovered from the surgery. (Did I mention that my surgeon was a very WISE man?)
All during my recovery from brain surgery, I was of the opinion that my symptoms had been caused by the aneurysm; so I expected that now I was "fixed". In reality, none of my symptoms had been caused by the aneurysm. It took the doctor some time to convince me of that fact. I did not believe him until my symptoms came back and new symptoms also appeared. During the recovery time, my surgeon had referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist tried to discuss the subject of MS with me, but, I was not wanting to hear about that. I was in denial. When I was told 2 yrs after the surgery, in no uncertain terms, that I had MS, I was completely devastated. I had 3 children to raise (and, unbeknownst to me, soon I would have another one on the way).
[By the way, the surgeon was somewhat surprised that I had given birth to 3 children (without an epidural) and that the aneurysm had not ruptured]
So, one day I was at the grocery store and I run into a former co-worker and she says to me, "How have you been?" I tell her all the things that have happened over the last few years and she then says to me "So, in a way, MS saved your life, didn't it?" I thought to myself, "Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I didn't say it. I only thought it. We said our good-byes and I walked back to my car trying to get my head around what she had just said to me. "MS saved your life" .......the more I thought about it, the more I realized that she was right. People with brain aneurysms fall over dead without notice usually. I had been given the chance to have mine repaired BEFORE it ruptured, and I lived to see all my children grown....all because I had MS symptoms.
Don't think for a minute that I am happy to have MS. But, given what could have happened (probably when I was pushing out my 4th child), I am grateful that I was able to raise my children. I am also thankful that I wasn't diagnosed when I was 20 for 2 reasons:
1. there was no therapy at the time
2. I would have been afraid to have children
In my ignorance, I was blessed to be mother to 4 children, and that's the best part of all.
Anyone trying to raise children while dealing with MS knows what a challenge that can be. I did learn a few things about how to accomplish running a household in some unorthodox ways! There is always more than 1 way to "skin a cat", as the saying goes. (I wonder who ever skinned a cat anyway? How awful)
Well, that's my condensed version of how MS did bring about the discovery of a possibly fatal brain aneurysm. Sometimes even bad things can bring about good outcomes.
First of all, I have had MS for over 40 yrs. I went to the doctor with my first symptoms when I was 19 or 20 yrs old. It was to be many years before I would be diagnosed however. All those years of misdiagnosis is another story for another time.
To get to the point of how MS saved my life; when my youngest child was just an infant (at the time, I had 3 children), I began experiencing severe pain, numbness and tingling from the chest down on my right side, and on the bottom of my left foot. I also had excruciating pain (how do I put this delicately?) up my butt. The pain was so bad that I thought I must have busted a gut or something.
I made an appointment with my family physician. My symptoms puzzled him and being a thoughtful and conscientious doctor, he referred me to a specialist. After many tests with all normal results, the neuro-surgeon ordered an MRI of my brain.
No, unlike many MSers, no lesions were seen on the MRI of my brain. But, an aneurysm was discovered. Needless to say, all other concerns about my symptoms were put on the back burner and I was scheduled for brain surgery to repair the aneurysm, which was located behind my left eye at the juncture of the carotid artery and the optic artery. That was 22 yrs ago. Surgery was successful and I have almost no permanent damage.
The night before my brain surgery the doctor performed a spinal tap (now referred to as a lumbar puncture). The results showed that I had MS but I was not informed of this until almost 2 yrs later because it took me that long to recover from the brain surgery. My surgeon told me that they had found something that would probably explain my symptoms but that we would not pursue this until I had recovered from the surgery. (Did I mention that my surgeon was a very WISE man?)
All during my recovery from brain surgery, I was of the opinion that my symptoms had been caused by the aneurysm; so I expected that now I was "fixed". In reality, none of my symptoms had been caused by the aneurysm. It took the doctor some time to convince me of that fact. I did not believe him until my symptoms came back and new symptoms also appeared. During the recovery time, my surgeon had referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist tried to discuss the subject of MS with me, but, I was not wanting to hear about that. I was in denial. When I was told 2 yrs after the surgery, in no uncertain terms, that I had MS, I was completely devastated. I had 3 children to raise (and, unbeknownst to me, soon I would have another one on the way).
[By the way, the surgeon was somewhat surprised that I had given birth to 3 children (without an epidural) and that the aneurysm had not ruptured]
So, one day I was at the grocery store and I run into a former co-worker and she says to me, "How have you been?" I tell her all the things that have happened over the last few years and she then says to me "So, in a way, MS saved your life, didn't it?" I thought to myself, "Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?" I didn't say it. I only thought it. We said our good-byes and I walked back to my car trying to get my head around what she had just said to me. "MS saved your life" .......the more I thought about it, the more I realized that she was right. People with brain aneurysms fall over dead without notice usually. I had been given the chance to have mine repaired BEFORE it ruptured, and I lived to see all my children grown....all because I had MS symptoms.
Don't think for a minute that I am happy to have MS. But, given what could have happened (probably when I was pushing out my 4th child), I am grateful that I was able to raise my children. I am also thankful that I wasn't diagnosed when I was 20 for 2 reasons:
1. there was no therapy at the time
2. I would have been afraid to have children
In my ignorance, I was blessed to be mother to 4 children, and that's the best part of all.
Anyone trying to raise children while dealing with MS knows what a challenge that can be. I did learn a few things about how to accomplish running a household in some unorthodox ways! There is always more than 1 way to "skin a cat", as the saying goes. (I wonder who ever skinned a cat anyway? How awful)
Well, that's my condensed version of how MS did bring about the discovery of a possibly fatal brain aneurysm. Sometimes even bad things can bring about good outcomes.
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